Behavioral Health Center

Referrals and Admission

Now there's a place to help people in crisis heal with compassion, comfort and advanced care. Pathways for admission to the Behavioral Health Center are initiated through the Self Access referral service, or the Self Regional Emergency Care Center.

Individuals in need of inpatient mental health services are encouraged to reach out to their primary care providers or mental health professionals for support during the referral process. Medical and behavioral health professionals may make referrals for direct admission through Self Access. Specially trained Registered Nurses take your physician's calls and facilitate a consult with a Behavioral Health Professional.

Emergency and crisis situations may be admitted through the Self Regional Emergency Care Center. When care is accessed through the Emergency Care Center treatment begins with an evaluation by a Behavioral Health Assessment Team (BHAT) professional to determine an appropriate and safe intervention and plan. Our behavioral health assessment services are provided as part of medical triage 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in the Emergency Care Center at Self Regional.

Following the mental health assessment, a plan will be established that may include:

Referral to the patient's home, to another community provider, or to Western Carolina Psychiatric Associates, an outpatient physician practice affiliated with Self Medical Group.

Admission to the inpatient Adult Behavioral Unit, for adults between the ages of 18 and 64 years old (we do not admit patients younger than the age of 18).

Admission to the Geriatric Behavioral Unit for persons ages 65 and older.

Transfer to another mental health facility if the patient's needs would be better met elsewhere

Inpatient Behavioral
Health Center

Our new Behavioral Health Center is physically
separated into two patient units — an adult unit with
16 private patient rooms for persons 18 to 64 years old
and a geriatric unit with 15 private patient rooms for
persons 65 years old and older.

These units provide acute care to voluntary and involuntary patients in a safe and therapeutic environment.
The stabilization of a patient's psychiatric disorder
begins with psychiatric and medical evaluations.

Treatments may include medications, patient and
family education, individual and group therapies.
These serve as the core of the state-of-the-art care
we provide. Our goal is to provide stabilization and
improvement of a patient's symptoms as quickly
as possible.

Our team of licensed psychiatrists, registered nurses,
social workers, counselors, behavioral health
technicians, and recreational therapists work together
to develop and implement an individualized plan of
care that may include comprehensive diagnostic
intervention, medication, therapy and discharge
planning. Optimal outcomes can be achieved by using
patient-centered care and patient family involvement.

Adult Behavioral Unit

We have 16 private patient rooms for male and female adults between the ages of 18 years and 64 (for voluntary and involuntary evaluation and treatment).

We provide a comprehensive psychiatric and
medical evaluation for patients with primary
behavioral health issues and secondary
medical issues.

Our adult unit is designed and staffed to provide
a calming/soothing environment for patients
with safety and security in mind.

Adult aged patients admitted to our acute
program may be experiencing a range of
emotional or behavioral symptoms including
social withdrawal, suicidal/homicidal thoughts
or actions, hallucinations, confused thinking, mood
swings, despair, irritability and an inability to care
for themselves safely.

The length of stay in our adult program is
determined by individual patient needs
and varies widely with some patients ready for
discharge in a few days to others who may need
additional time (7-10 days).

Geriatric Behavioral Unit

15 private rooms for male or female patients ages
65 years and older (for voluntary and involuntary
evaluation and treatment).

We provide a comprehensive psychiatric and
medical evaluation for patients with primary
behavioral health issues and secondary
medical issues.

Our geriatric unit is designed and staffed to
provide a calming/soothing environment for the
patient with safety and security in mind for
older adult patients.

Patients admitted to our geriatric program
may be experiencing a range of emotional
or behavioral symptoms including social
withdrawal, suicidal/homicidal thoughts or
actions, hallucinations, confused thinking,
mood swings, despair, irritability and an inability
to care for themselves safely.

The length of stay in our geriatric program will be
determined by individual
patient needs and will
vary widely with some
patients ready for discharge
in a few days to a week; it
is not unusual for patients
ages 65 years and older
to need 10 days to
two weeks.